For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
I’m still reading the
book about spiritual warfare and prayer, but yesterday either shifted my
direction or confirmed a direction I’d been – sort of, kind of – contemplating.
I went out to work on the garden and found myself irritated. There were so many
weeds to pull! Then there are so many seeds to plant, pieces to root, and seedlings
to buy, and none of them can be planted yet (it was 29 this morning.) I’m so
far from my goal of a beautiful garden! Do you hear the complaint in my words?
You should because it was there.
I tend to be reluctant to
say, “Then God,” but, then God suggested that seeing things as negative just
because they aren’t the desired finished product means that I’m missing out on the
joy of the creative process, of the time spent with God in the garden, and of
becoming the person I will become through the creative process. It’s not that
the product doesn’t matter. It’s that the process does. I feel a little chagrined, because I keep
telling people “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have, now” while
I’m grinding my teeth because I’m not somewhere else already.
Today’s passage is a favorite
verse for many people, and I’ve written about it, possibly more often than I
should. It came to mind this morning because I have tended to think of God’s
knowing the plans as knowing the destination. In the end, it’ll all come out good.
That’s product-thinking. God knowing the plans as in the step-by-step process
of getting us where we’re going is process-thinking. It includes the idea that the
process is also meant to prosper us, not to harm us, and to give us a future
and a hope. It’s not just the end that comes out good.
I have pulled a number of
books from my shelves to re-read this summer, to explore this idea more.
And, I'm aware it's Easter, so here's the Eastern Concert, even if the post isn't Eastery.
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